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Gizmo's Harem

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Joined
Jan 14, 2010
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11
We are in desperate need of some professional, knowledgeable advice regarding one of our chins. It probably makes the most sense to start from the beginning...

We have three chins. The two females live together and have done so since a very young age. They are all 1 1/2 years old. All appear to be in excellent health. Their diet consists of Oxbow Chinchilla Deluxe, Kaytee timothy hay, distilled water, once in a while an alfalfa block, and the occasional raisin. I noticed about a week ago that one of the females appears much thinner than the other two... Now she constantly uses her wheel whereas neither of the other two care much for exercise. Could this be the reason she is much skinnier? She appears to be eating well. IS also extremely active and alert! I did notice that her droppings seemed to show signs of constipation. They were small and dry. I gave her a raisin a day for a few days... They got larger but still not back to normal and just today I noticed once again they were smaller than ever!! Almost the size of mice droppings. I am very confused and concerned. Could someone please explain what we are doing wrong and how to fix the problem. I cannot understand since they all appear to be extremely healthy, yet one has abnormally small droppings and seems underweight as of recent. Thank you for your time.
 
Small droppings could be an indication of some things. Perhaps she is not eating as much because her cagemate is not allowing her to eat. Or perhaps she has teeth issues.

I would really suggest a vet visit including x-rays to rule out any teeth issues.

And for what it's worth, I would stop with the raisins, they are not going to help whatsoever especially if she has some intestinal issues going on.
 
Please stop feeding the raisins! They have way too much sugar and can cause bloat and/or kidney damage to your chin.

If she is using the wheel excessively it could be the reason she is thinner. You need to start taking her weight regularly to see if she is losing weight. You could get rid of the wheel and see if that helps. If she continues to lose weight she needs to see a vet for a check up
 
Take the skinny one into the vet to get her teeth checked out and invest in a scale. Teeth would be the first thing to get looked at. Get x-rays. That needs to be done while the chin is sedated. And i also hope you have a chin savvy vet.
 
First, please stop the raisins! They can upset your animals' intestinal health because of too much sugar in them. Many members here advocate against using them altogether and I don't feed any. There is plenty of safer treats to give- apple twigs, rosehips or small parts of horse/chin cookies, nesta pet pasta (aka chinny crack)- search for them on the forum for chin supplies.
Excercise could well be the reason for the smaller chin, as could her genetics.
But this does not explain her constipation- has anything else changed in her diet or environment?
Also, I don't know much about Kaytee Hay, but with Oxbow feed, you should be able to get Oxbow hay as well- it is likely a better option.
 
Remove the wheel and see. Many times a chin will drop a lot of weight with a wheel in the cage, so some chins can't have them. I would definitely pull the wheel and see if she starts gaining again.

A word to the wise, a chin with stomach issues should NOT be given raisins. That is the last thing they need. If your chin is having digestive issues, pull all pellets, give nothing but hay, and give them acidophilus in some form. Throwing sugar into an upset stomach is not the way to do it. If your poops are dry, check your water bottle. Is it functioning? Are you sure she's eating? Is it possible that she's starting to be bullied when it comes to the food dish? Can you put 2 food dishes in so they each have one?

Gizmo - Please only start one thread on any given topic. It looks like you copied and pasted to another forum, and I had to combine the two threads, so now this one looks like a mess. It's much easier to follow if you have ONE thread regarding this issue in one forum.
 
Chins can lose some weight if they use their wheels excessively. You can remove the wheel to see if it causes the problem.

I would not use Kaytee hay. It's best to get fresh hay locally (I prefer to use organic hay as it does not contain herbicides or pesticides). Maybe you can find a farm that sells hay in your area. Please do not feed raisins. Sugary treats will interfere with a restoration of normal GI motility. You can use healthy herbal treats. Plants and animals do not thrive on distilled water. Some say that it's ok to use it since chins get nutrients from another sources. However, if you purchase water in plastic containers, chemicals from plastic containers can get into the water. It's best to use filtered water; I use a faucet mounted PUR filter. Please make sure that Oxbow pellets are fresh. Most pellets sold in pet stores are not fresh. It's recommended to use pellets within 6 months from the mill date as pellets lose nutrients fast. Sandi on here sells fresh Oxbow pellets http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15193.

To relieve constipation you can use a hand feeding formula (Essentials for Life or Critical Care) and a small amount of unsweetened, preferably organic, canned pumpkin (not pumpkin filling). Pumpkin softens the stool and promotes its passage. Essentials for life contains herbs that help relieve constipation. You can also offer some fresh, loose alfalfa hay. I stress the importance of loose hay as heat treated feeds are more difficult to digest, enzymes are destroyed, and some food elements are transferred into carcinogens and toxins. Alfalfa promotes weight gain, stimulates the appetite, and acts as a mild laxative. Alfalfa is a powerful enzyme-rich food.

It's also a good idea to get x-rays and get her teeth checked.

Some chins lose weight because they can't metabolize nutrients sufficiently. Chins with this problem need a natural diet: a small amount of pellets, unlimited amount of various organic hays, including some alfalfa + herbs. Herbs are rich in nutrients, and some herbs help normalize liver and gallbladder function. Nutrients from plant sources are fully available for uptake and utilization. Pellets contain many synthetic nutrients (all essential known nutrients) because those nutrients were are not there (inadequate ingredients). Synthetic nutrients put strain on liver and kidneys. Some animals may not able to deal with them, and everyday pounding of all needed synthetic nutrients can cause hypervitaminosis, organ damage or deficiency if the body tries to supply missing co-factors to absorb isolated molecules. A diet that consists of fractional ingredients/synthetic nutrients or an enzyme deficient diet can lead to malfunction of absorption.
 
UPDATE:

So we are feeding Oxbow exclusively... (Timothy hay 75%, Alflafa 25%, and unlimited pellets). Tried the pumpkin, she wanted nothing to do with it! Eliminated use of the wheel. Her stool constantly changes from looking like it is going back to normal and then all of a sudden looking small and dry once again! She is very active and does not appear to be sick other than the fact I know she has lost weight. Is there a way that I can cure the constipation. She is eating and drinking well!! I did check her teeth and did not notice anything out of the ordinary. There are no vets local that work with chinchillas so we are very limited. I did notice that sometimes when she eats she makes a grinding sound with her teeth...In the past she had a habit of gmawing at the latch on the cage to try and get out. Could she have hurt her jaw?? As aforementioned, I checked her mouth and did not notice anything out of the ordinary. I just don't understand.
 
Acidopholus could help.

A scale is really the only way you can truly monitor her weight. Is she a bit skinny but holding her weight, or is she continually dropping weight? A digital scale is a must.

And if she continues to lose weight, like the others have said, get her to a vet, even if that means you have to travel a bit. It could mean life or death for your chin. X-rays of her teeth under sedation would let you know if it is a tooth issue or gut issue. And do you think she lost the weight suddenly, or over a period of time?
 
Unfortunately you can't see her back teeth just looking in her mouth. With her grinding her teeth it could be she has a spur that she is trying to wear down herself. It could be causing her mouth pain or could be causing an abcess/wound to form on the side of her cheek. It could be any number of things, but without getting the inside of her mouth looked at/xrays done you won't know.

Where are you located? We may be able to help find a chinchilla competent vet in your area.
 
Last edited:
We live in Latrobe, PA. 15650

Her weight loss was gradual. She seems to be extremely healthy and active with the exception of the aforementioned. She has been eating and drinking well. I changed her water to a purified water bottled for Gerber that is made for infants (purchased at Walmart). She is much skinnier than before but has not seemed to be losing any more weight since we noticed. The wheel has been removed to make certain of this!
 
Gizmo's Harem said:
We live in Latrobe, PA. 15650

Her weight loss was gradual. She seems to be extremely healthy and active with the exception of the aforementioned. She has been eating and drinking well. I changed her water to a purified water bottled for Gerber that is made for infants (purchased at Walmart). She is much skinnier than before but has not seemed to be losing any more weight since we noticed. The wheel has been removed to make certain of this!
Click to expand...

I just wanted to add that if you haven't picked one up already you can get a digital gram scale from walmart for $20-$30. The only way to accurately monitor her weight loss/gain is to weigh her regularly at the same time of day and record her weight so you can see trends.
 
I lived in Greensburg PA all of my life (just a few minutes down the road from you!) and just recently moved to MD for grad school. I had the same problem with finding a good chin vet til I got on this website. Angie Keffer is a vet at Robinson Animal Hospital who is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!...She is also the vet on this forum that is consulted for the vet thread. Robinson was about an hour or an hour and 10 minutes away from my house but it was soooo worth it. She is the most amazing vet and does not charge you excessively or make you buy things your chin doesn't really need. Also, when i told her I was moving to MD she wrote prescriptions for me for metacam and reglan (sp?) so that I would have it for my beebs if they got sick until I could get them to a vet. She is fabulous and I recommend seeing her even for just a check up and she can tell you whats going on what she thinks is necessary. You can google either either or Robinson Animal Hospital to get the info for her!
 
I purchased my chin from Angie for Christmas. Not only is she a local vet, she is also an owner of number of chins. I was glad I found her and once I saw your location was going to pass her info along to you.
 
Certainly is such a small world! We too purchased all three chins from Angie a little over a year ago. Ironically I am in contact with her as we speak in regards to business hours at the hospital. It is very difficult making the drive after work because of conflicting hours, that is the biggest concern I have. It would be very late by the time we arrived at the animal hospital!
 
Gizmo's Harem said:
Certainly is such a small world! We too purchased all three chins from Angie a little over a year ago. Ironically I am in contact with her as we speak in regards to business hours at the hospital. It is very difficult making the drive after work because of conflicting hours, that is the biggest concern I have. It would be very late by the time we arrived at the animal hospital!
Click to expand...

If I lived near the hospital that Angie the chinvet works at then I would do everything in my power to get my chin to her. Is it possible for you to take a few hours off of work so that you could take your chin to see her?
 
There is an AMAZING chin vet about an hour away from your house. Her name is Dr. Angela Keffer, and she works at the Robinson Animal Hospital. She also breeds chinchillas. She advised me when my chinchilla had a broken pelvis and she was an absolute delight.

Good luck.

http://www.gentlevets.com/

EDIT: Oops, I'm sorry. It wasn't showing the second page of replies for some reason...
 
Ha wow! My girl Sidney came from Angie! I first went to her with my chin Toji for teeth issues and had to have her teeth trimmed every 6 weeks or so. She also had a seizure disorder and unfortunately died after a terrible and serious seizure. It was awful for my fiance and I. So, one day she e-mailed me and said "I know its only been a month or so, but I have this chin i was saving for a little girl with cancer who now is not allowed to have a chin. I know you and Marc were awesome parents to Toji and if you want this chin I was saving, you 2 are welcome to have her" It really touched my heart and she is an absolutely GORGEOUS chin. Angie is not only an amazing vet but an outstanding person as well. It is well worth the drive to get to her!
 
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